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3: Lung Volumes and Compliance

  • Page ID
    34417
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    Learning objectives
    • Describe the lung volumes that can be determined by spirometry.
    • Describe the factors that determine lung compliance as the lung inflates from residual volume to total lung capacity.
    • Describe the ramifications of dead space on the pattern of breathing during hyperpnea.

    • 3.1: Lung Volumes
      In this section we’ll look at some of the nomenclature for a variety of lung volumes and how these are clinically pertinent and can change in disease. We’ll also begin to look at the work of breathing and what factors effect how easy or hard the lung is to inflate, that is, lung compliance. We’ll then see how breathing pattern is generated to improve the efficiency of the lung and reduce the work of breathing.
    • 3.2: Lung Compliance


    This page titled 3: Lung Volumes and Compliance is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Andrew Binks (Virginia Tech Libraries' Open Education Initiative) .

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